56 
TRAVELS IN AFRICA. 
CuAP. LXXI. 
Mohammed Said, the officer who had been sent to 
capture me on a previous occasion, was despatched as 
a messenger by Ferreji, the new officer ; and, under 
the present circumstances, disguising all hostile in- 
tentions, he was desirous to know what was the reason 
of this show of arms ; such not being in accordance 
with the Sheikh's former character, and it being 
rather his duty to bestow hospitable treatment upon 
his old friend. El Ferreji. 
Although this was rather a curious distortion of 
facts, I was still more astonished at the answer of 
the Sheikh, who replied, that he had only followed 
the example of his two brothers. But the business 
w^as not settled in this manner. Late in the evening 
there was another serious consultation in the terrace- 
room of the Sheikh, and Sidi A^lawate was despatched 
to Ferreji to elicit from him an indication of his real 
intentions. Sidi Mohammed, meanwhile, in order to 
pass away the time, opened a cheerful and jocose con- 
versation, by questioning me respecting the social 
position and the various relations of the other sex in 
my own country, — a subject which always possesses a 
great deal of attraction, even amongst the most serious 
of the Mohammedans. 
Having then been obliged to withdraw, as A'lawate 
had pretended that he could only communicate his 
message from the officer sent from Hamda-Alldhi to El 
Bakdy himself, I returned home ; but, long after mid- 
night, I received a visit from the latter, who came to 
inform me that Ferreji had brought nothing but 
